Number of women in Turkey's 550-member parliament increases from 50 to 78 as 45 of them were elected on ticket of Islamist-rooted AKP.

Middle East Online

14 percent of parliament's seats

ANKARA - The number of women in Turkey's parliament increased from 50 to 78 after Sunday's polls, according to unofficial results.

Once the electoral board confirms the results, women would hold 14 percent of the seats in the 550-member parliament.

Most of the winning candidates -- 45 -- were elected on the ticket of the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), which won a third straight term in office with some 50 percent of the vote and a total of 325 seats.

Among the most prominent new women lawmakers is iconic Kurdish activist Leyla Zana, who spent 10 years behind bars before being released in 2004.

Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk gave women full voting rights as early as 1934, years ahead of some members of the European Union.

Turkey's first and only woman prime minister was Tansu Ciller, who headed coalition governments between 1993 and 1996.